Samsung Galaxy Note was a very controversial product by the time it was introduced. It’s a little too big to be a Smartphone and little too small to be a tablet. So people started calling it a ‘phablet’ introducing a new category of devices. Its unique features such as smart pen contributed to its success.
Later on Samsung came up with Galaxy Note 10, a full size tablet and Galaxy Note II with 5.5 inch display. Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 created the trend of 7 inch tablets. Then Apple joined the party with iPad Mini and Samsung also had several 7 inch tablets.
With all these, in Galaxy Note line there was a gap between 5.5 inched Smartphone and 10 inches tablet. Finally Samsung decided to fill that gap with 8 inches Tablet with all the unique features of Note device line. Let’s go and take a closer look in to Galaxy Note 8.0.
Insight for Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0
Design
Dimensions: 210.8 x 135.9 x 8 mm
Weight: 338 g
The design on Galaxy Note 8.0 reminds me of stretched out Galaxy S III. It has glossy plastic build and curved corners. You can find the volume rocker and power button in right edge, microSD slot and microSIM slot in left edge, stereo speakers and microUSB port on bottom edge and 3.5 mm headphone jack in top edge. The smart pen is placed at bottom right corner.
Display
Size: 8 Inches
Protection: n/a
Technology: TFT
Resolution: 800×1280 px
Sharpness: 189 ppi
The display spec is pretty much standard among same level of devices. I think it’s a good time for Samsung to come up with a WOW display for this size of tablet. An AMOLED display with 1080p resolution would be great.
Processor and Storage
Platform: Exynos 4 Quad
CPU: 1.6 GHz // Quad Core // Cortex A9
GPU: Mali-400MP
RAM: 2 GB
Internal Storage: 16/32 GB
Expandable Storage: Yes, microsSD up to 64 GB
Exynos quad platform is configured for maximum performance. This is not really great compared to latest hardware platforms, yet a very powerful configuration for you to run any application available in Play Store smoothly.
Samsung devices are giving you lots of storage space and even expansion and they have done it again with microSD slot support up to 64 GB.
Software
OS: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
UI: TouchWiz UI
The device comes with Jelly bean off the box though it’s not the latest version. It’s decorated with TouchWiz UI with split screens, quick access dock and all the other goodness. And good news is, here you can control capacitive buttons with Smart pen.
I’m not a big fan of manufacturer themes. But for this device it’s a must. There are several features that goes with Smart pen that doesn’t come with stock Android.
Camera
Primary: 5 MP // 1080p@30fps
Front Facing: 1.3 MP
The camera is pretty average and for a tablet it’s not really essential to have a rear facing camera. A good quality front facing camera for video calling is all we need.
Connectivity
Mobile Network: GSM // HSDPA // LTE
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
GPS: A-GPS // GLONASS
NFC: n/a
Bluetooth: 4.0
USB: microUSB 2.0
There are two versions of this device, LTE and Wi-Fi. It comes with all the standard connectivity features and you don’t really have anything else to ask for.
Battery
Type: Li-Ion
Capacity: 4600 mAh
Battery Life: ~8h
The battery is pretty big and I think it will be enough to survive several days and at least 8 hours of HD video playback.
Wrapping Up
This would be a good improvement to Note II and gives more space to use Smart pen. It’s not too big like Note 10. So I believe Note 8.0 will have a good market. But I think Samsung is losing its WOW factor. The major reason is, they have too many devices. I hope in future production they will limit to few awesome devices.
Tags: #Android #Samsung #Tablet